•연구자: 의생명시스템학부 박상연
•발표일: 2025.12.31 (온라인)
•DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2025.12.052
•Nayoung Kwon et al., Acta Biomaerialia (Q1), (2026)
•Abstract
Egg glue proteins are essential for the survival of aquatic insects, as they provide the means for securely attaching eggs to substrates and preventing them from being dislodged by water. In this study, we aimed to identify and characterize the egg glue proteins from two species of Belostomatidae family aquatic insects, Appasus japonicus and Lethocerus indicus, which are both commonly known as “toe biters” or “(giant) water bugs”. Both species exhibit unique adhesive strategies to secure their eggs in their respective environments: A. japonicus lay eggs on the back of the male, often being submerged underwater, while L. indicus deposit eggs on vegetation above the waterline. Using proteomic approaches, including mass spectrometry and amino acid analysis, we identified the cysteine-rich glue protein from the egg mass of A. japonicus. Using this sequence, an orthologous protein in the L. indicus genome was found, and the two proteins recombinantly produced for further study. As expected, the A. japonicus egg glue protein showed greater water-resistance than that of L. indicus with similar adhesive strengths in both dry and wet conditions. In addition, circular dichroism experiment and infrared spectroscopy suggested that structural transition takes place during the curing process to result in a higher level of β-sheet in the solid form.